As publicly known, a good mattress can improve sleep quality. It is however not easy to find a good mattress, for the reason that each individual has their own age, body shape and weight, as well as diversified supporting needs. Everyone has also their own sleep habits and preference for firmness of the mattress. It is not easy for a mattress to satisfy at the same time different needs of a couple, as they differ in age, body shape and build and sleep habits. Even if one is able to come up with a mattress satisfying their present needs, the mattress in general would be used for 10 years or more, during which time changes in the user's age, body conditions and shape would occur. A mattress would normally take physical damage as time passes, without the ability to keep up with constant changes in the user's needs. It is thus even harder to come up with a mattress tailor-made to the body shape and build of the user and at the same time with the ability to constantly satisfy different needs in support brought along by personal changes.
As the lifespan of human increases, finding a way to allow the pillar of the human body—the spine—to work with the aging body is becoming imminent. After 40 years of intensive research on bedding and reference to considerable literature on spinal care and healthy sleep, the inventor concludes that it is in fact not difficult to improve the function of the spine and extend its life, where a suitable pillow and a capable mattress are all it takes. With the combination of the two, it is estimated (non-clinically) that the spine would be able to at least function for a term 20-30% longer. Looking at mattresses in the market throughout the world, no matter how luxurious they are in their appearance, none of them can be said capable.
A. Manufacturers' Lack of Understanding of the Body Structure Unique to Each Individual
1. As publicly known, the spine is the pillar of the body supporting the whole torso and maintaining its agile movements. The spine has an S-shape as its natural biological curves. A cross section of the spine when sleeping on the back would generally reveal that the cervical vertebrae and the lumbar vertebrae are arched upwards. Taking into account the hip bulging downwards, there would be 3 to 5 inches of difference in level between the lumbar vertebrae and the hip.
2. The spine is prone to fatigue during daytime when working, sitting, standing and walking. Sleeping is the only time when the spine can take full rest. When sleeping, two pressure points are created on the body: the shoulder (particularly noticeable for a male sleeping on his side) and the hip (particularly noticeable for a female with a generally wider pelvis). The key to quality sleep lies in suitable relief for these pressure points and thus effective protection for the S-shaped spine with its natural biological curves.
3. Near the hip of the human body exists a body part colloquially known as the “low back”. The low back initiates movements of the whole upper body and endures frequently tension caused by lateral swinging motions. It can be described as the part that is most fragile and most heavily stressed (see figure). Activities during daytime cause strain to the low back, which is desirable to be healed and relieved by taking rests and sleeps. Due to its proximity to the hip and the difference in level and weight between the low back and the hip, the low back is lifted by the hip when lying on the back and loses the support it needs. It is thus obvious that the low back is the part most prone to fatigue and injury. Without sufficient healing, “low back strain” will occur in the long run. When the low back is stressed for days and nights without relief, adjacent fasciae and nerves would naturally become stiff and induce hyperaemia, causing inflammation, pain, muscular stiffness and numbness in the long run. In the worst scenario, permanent spinal tuberculosis may form besides the lumbar, affecting normal activities.
Apart from the abovementioned structure of the human body, of higher importance are the differences in body shape and build between each individual. In theory, each individual needs their own unique support for the back. However, mattresses in the market in general cannot satisfy each individual's biological needs.
B. Defects in Mainstream Closed Mattresses in the Present Market
1. Unitary Firmness without Precisely Defined Support Zones
The mattress has adopted a closed and unitary structure since its advent some 80 years ago. Despite the fact that different mattresses may vary in their firmness, most would only offer one kind of such. The material used in the mattress is decided by the manufacturer, leaving no room for customization by the customer.
2. Incapability to Support Diversified Body Shapes with Vaguely Defined Zones
As technologies progress, recent years have seen occasional attempts by manufacturers to define mattress zones according to firmness, albeit without succeeding in precisely matching the S-shaped curves of different bodies. The first reason for this is that it is not possible for the manufacturer to predict each individual's height, weight and body shape. How pressures points of the user can be addressed as seen in advertisements is in fact empty words, nothing more than propaganda. The second reason lies in the diameter of an individual coil being at least 6 to 7 cm and along with the intervals between coils, it is not possible to fit precisely each individual's body shape. Due to the difference in height between individuals, the position and zone of the pressure points even in the same body part varies considerably. The subtle difference in supporting needs cannot be addressed by simply dividing the mattress vaguely into “head”, “body” and “leg” zones. Such subtle mismatch translates into a substantial issue in application. Owing to the differences in body build, it is conceivable that a unitary mattress would not be able to satisfy individual's needs between a couple sleeping in the same bed.
3. Pain in the Low Back, the Suspended Body Part Forgotten
According to a medical survey, 60% to 70% people in the middle age suffer low back strain, which is mostly caused by insufficient support when sleeping on the back, instead of merely the outcome of labour. Coil mattresses with a unitary and closed structure rarely provide substantial support for the low back, for the reason that the hip below the low back is in general heavier. Under physical traction, the surface of the mattress underneath the hip would generally collapse, thereby removing support for the low back, suspending and stressing it, preventing relaxation of the same. This issue is however commonly ignored or unresolved by mattress manufacturers. Therefore, mattresses in the market are incapable of extending the life of the spine, and worse still may indirectly cause damage and accelerate its degradation.
4. The Individual Coil Misnomer
In the past decade, the coil design of the closed coil mattress has been filled with gimmicks such as “individually wrapped coils”, “continuous coils”, “tied coils”, “extra-thin, extra-dense, extra-count coils” and “double/triple layer coils”. Objectively speaking, some of them brought about some changes, being convincing at least in their names. For example, the advertisement of “individually wrapped coils” is appealing to some: a wine glass filled with champagne is put on one side of a coil and a bowling ball is dropped onto the other side. The wine glass in the advertisement remains motionless. Many are tricked by such representation of “individual wraps”. Taking a closer look, however, a clear plastic plate is placed underneath the wine glass, and the coils are literally “individual”. In reality, an “individually wrapped coil” mattress does not come with a clear plastic plate, and some material has to be connected in between the coils for shaping purpose. 3 to 6 protective layers, supportive layers and comfort layers have to be placed on top and at the bottom of the coils. Topped with a fancy cover, the coils are obviously less “individual”. Dropping a bowling ball onto such mattress may even cause movement to someone lying thereon.
5. The Backfiring Competition in Thickness and Fanciness
The trend in recent years in coil mattress design has been on thickness and fanciness, leading to increasing sizes and weights easily reaching 60 to 70 kg. All coil mattresses, however, are prone to metal fatigue. To extend the durability and life of the mattress, customers paying for the product are required, despite difficulty, to flip regularly the bulk of the mattress weighing 60 to 70 kg. Such action is not only a torture to the user, but also a joke in the consumer industry.
In addition, nuisance and waste are caused by the delivery of the bulk of the mattress. In particular, old multi-storey buildings may not be fitted with an elevator, or one that is large enough for such bulky mattress. Lifting equipment is therefore required to be set up outside of the building in order to deliver the mattress to the floor in question, thereby incurring costs and nuisance. In an even worse scenario, delivery personnel have to carry the mattress upstairs where lifting equipment cannot be set up. Such delivery may lead to work injury, adding a burden to public medical services. It may also cause unnecessary damage to public facilities and upholstery along the staircase.
6. Closed Mattresses as Hotbeds for Bacteria and Mites
Generally speaking, closed unitary coil mattresses of various kinds are faced with a number of serious deficiencies, causing worries and trouble to the user. In particular, the materials used in the mattress remain unknown to the user. Even if the coils and materials are corroded or moulded, infested with bacteria or mites, or even causing odor, the user can do nothing due to the size and closed structure of the mattress. Knowingly accepting the fact that bacteria, mites and odor are building up and developing and at the same time having nightly sleeps with them is one of the biggest ironies to the technologically advanced world of the present day.